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Now that I have gotten my feelings on free agency out of my system, I’m ready to take a look at some of the bargain UFAs that may still be available. I mean, does it matter if I think Matthew Lombardi was a decent contract and second line center option while you say The Little Viking, Matty P. and/or Flash can handle the load, since we’ll both be cheering the Caps to a Cup anyway? Together. Like BFFs?
Lately, George McPhee hasn't gotten much credit for the 121 point team he's assembled. Is the criticism he's recieved justified? (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Photo above taken by Phil of Capitals Outsider
It must be hard owning a professional sports team. Every crackpot with an internet connection is either emailing you, posting articles about you, or just simply trashing you in 140 characters or less.
It’s probably harder still to be a General Manager. Talk about loneliness. You get little credit for drafting the superstar everyone knew would pan out, yet take tons of abuse for those trades/signings that just don’t make sense. You even get crap for the moves that you don’t make, even if you told everyone beforehand that you weren’t going to make them. Then some of your precious assets file arbitration and you don’t know what to expect. On the surface it seems that you were shrewd in holding off on the UFA frenzy, but until we see what the arbitration  rulings are and which, if any, of the deals you walk away from it’s too soon to tell.
Sure, maybe it was stating the obvious when we said the second-line center the Caps should target is Matthew Lombardi, but it’s more than that. If we look at the numbers, I think he is the ONLY viable option in free agency.
Luckily our first line center is set in stone for the next decade. You may have heard of him; he’s kind of a big deal. But then there is quite a drop off:
This man may be the answer to the Capitals Second Line Center Woes.
First, the Montreal Canadiens signed leading scorer Tomas Plekanec to a six-year, $30 million contract on Tuesday. Then, the San Jose Sharks sign Patrick Marleau to a four-year contract a week before he would have become a free agent. This eliminated the two best (albeit pricey) options the Caps had to fulfill a glaring need: second-line center.
So we panic right? I mean, it’s over, Johnny, right?
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Is this Washingtonian photo contest (where my picture “ Taking in the Sights” is in second place and could use some votes) over? Nope. (Mostly because voting ends June 30th. Seriously go vote for me.)
Bet you’re asking, “Then who, hot shot?”
We’ll tell you who.
